


Iolite

by MadokaFan1234



Category: Sing (2016)
Genre: (or is it???), Fluff, I can't believe I actually wrote something, IT'S PLATONIC, SHOUTOUT TO THE CHAT, [has no idea how to italicize in ao3], [is too tired to learn], dicks out to the chat, for once, just letting you guys know it's 12;35 am, the things I do for you, wait no ew, you guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 07:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10566915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadokaFan1234/pseuds/MadokaFan1234
Summary: Sequel to "Suddenly, I Was A Lilac Sky"Buster and Almandine are on a mission. Little do they know, they find more than just new friends on their way.





	1. One Month Later

It had been a month since they fused.

The two had avoided each other like the plague. Every second the two stood in the same room just seemed to drip with tension.

Buster would be giving out orders to each of the teens on their mission, attention focused on each of them as he gave out demands. Then Mike--or "Almandine"-- would enter looking for his keys or something. And then Buster's mind would go blank. Blank with nothing but fusion.

Only to be snapped back to reality at the confused voices of his colleagues.

He noticed it in Almandine as well, though it was better hidden. It was the sudden glances received by him, forgotten in a quick second. The lack of attention the mouse gave sometimes if they were in the same room, as if lost in his own thoughts about something. And when they were left alone, how he would ignore him or try to rush out of the room in an instant.

The mouse would hardly listen to his orders. He'd go off to do his own thing, they were lucky if he decided to participate in missions.

The thought had come to the koala in a sudden. Enough was enough. They had to face the music.

They had to face Iolite.

\---

"Almandine and I will search the front," he had stated during the most recent mission plan. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Mike look up at an instant at the sound of his name...as well as the association with him.

He had a scowl on his face, which passed off as his normal attitude showing off. But Buster's smile stayed on.

"See you guys in about five hours!" He chirped as the plan wrapped up, each time breaking into each other. He watched as Rosita and Gunter merrily skipped out of the theatre, ready to fuse themselves to save the day.

As he walked out the door, he glanced over at Mike, who was arrogantly following after him. He kept his eyes on the small mouse, trying to keep him in sight. The silence between them was normal at first...before it turned into awkwardness. His smile began to falter a bit, but it stayed on its hinge for as long as Buster could muster. He waited until the two were out of earshot from anyone else before continuing.

"Hey Mi--Almandine--" he caught his slip-up as he began his sentence. The mouse had looked up for a split-second to glance up, but it was a look of annoyance. Off to a great start already. "I know we may not be on the same page, but, can we put that aside? For the team?" He shrugged, tapping his fingers together.

Mike took in the question for a second, before surprisingly looking down in pondering for a few moments. Anticipation bubbled in Buster's gem, hoping for that maybe a moment, he'll agree.

But a small "humph" that came from him sent a bit of worry back into his core. Not that he wouldn't agree--that was normal for him--but his reaction seemed...odd. Buster would've predicted a nice laugh or quip, but Mike looked more stubborn this time around.

No chuckle. No one-liner. Just plain silence.

That scared Buster the most.

He looked forward as the two walked over to the edge of the island. He tried to keep his mind off the mouse, but the tension felt thick. Like it could be cut in half by a single step.

A shiver of fear ran down Buster's spine as he felt the mouse stop behind him.

"A-Almandine?" Buster asked, turning to face the smaller, yet intimidating animal. His head was faced towards the ground, but his gem was obviously creased along its edge. The mouse held an expression of chilling vexation, which Buster was used to by this point, but this certain feeling felt...terrifying. Like it was growing larger and larger with every passing second, towering over the small koala, ready for the kill.

"Moonstone," Almandine's voice spoke with such bluntness that felt like it could shatter Buster. He didn't grab the koala by the collar, or even walked closer to him. He just stood in place. "I don't know what your silly mind games are, or how they even worked on me. I'm just telling you--stay the hell away from me, okay?" He hissed.

He was definitely small, but for a moment, the koala felt like he was hovering over him, like a predator over surrounding its prey. He nodded quickly, terrified at the amount of power the mouse held in a single voice, and turned right back around to continue the walk.

Almandine nodded as well, following him. 

"Good," was all he said, before it was quiet. 

\---

The two maintained a distance as they walked around the peninsula, towards their goal. Silence was obviously pierced in the air, and the two animals didn't dare break it. At first, it was just road. Miles and miles of gray, rocky road.

Buster kept his mind centered around the report. A crashed ship, three gems emerged. Runaways? Fugitives? He didn't know--he just knew that they would be new to Earth. He'd be glad to give them a warm welcome!

"Ugh," He heard Mike grumble as they continued to walk, breaking the silence for a moment. "We've been walking for hours! When're we gonna get there?" He complained, impatiently.

Buster thought over what to say for a moment. Did Mike even want him to answer? "Soon," Buster simply said, not even turning around. Best to not try and explain further. He just heard Mike huff in response, but heard him continue to walk. Good, he was cooperating. Maybe they could get along for once.

The silence continued on for more hours as the two walked closer through the peninsula. There were occasional grunts from Mike, to which Buster responded offhandedly, but the two had continued their journey with no conversation. That was how they preferred it, after all. They weren't friends, they were teammates. That's all they would ever be, so what was the use for conversation?

Buster had continued leading the way, before the two began to reach a foggy point. Towards the beach of the island, clouds had covered every part, making it a large mass of blur. But that wasn't odd for him--what was odd was the one thing that had shone through the clouds. A large hunk of metal, reddish-brown color depleted, stuck in the middle of the beach, tilted at on odd angle. The koala subconsciously stopped in his tracks, eyes widening as he realized what he was seeing.

A ship. 

He felt Mike bump into his ankle, not realizing the koala had stopped. "Hey, what happened?" He asked. Buster did not answer. He was too awestruck by the wonder in front of him. "Moonstone? Moonstone?" Mike snapped quickly, irritated that Buster hadn't answered him. But he could not hear the mouse over his thoughts as he began to walk up to the monster of a ship. "Oh, for diamond's sake," The mouse shook his head, following abruptly behind.

As Buster walked closer to the crashed craft, it began to seem to increase in size. Larger and larger it grew as he walked closer, each dent and bruise becoming clearer and clearer. The musky red had become obviously rusted in color. It seemed recent. Buster gawked up at the large ship, checking out every corner his little eyes could see. His mouth had hung open in shock at the sight, but slowly increased in size. 

"This is AMAZING!" He shouted excitedly, prompting a small kick from his partner to quiet himself. Buster ignored it, too overjoyed. 

"Buster," Mike hissed, tugging on the koala's pant leg to try and get his attention. The mouse had looked around the area, but couldn't see over the monstrous craft.

"Are you SEEING THIS, MIKE?!" Buster yelled in joy. "THIS IS AN ACTUAL HOMEWORLD SHIP! LOOK AT THOSE SHUTTERS--" He had continued to admire the ship, even running up to touch it. 

"Buster, listen--" Mike tried again, stubborn tone fading into...worry? "Keep your voice down--" He checked the area from every direction, rapidly switching sights every second. He was struggling to pull Buster's attention to him, but continued to try. 

"WHY?" Buster asked, still smiling. "WE'RE LOOKING AT AN ACTUAL HOMEWORLD SHIP! HOW ARE YOU NOT EXCITED?" He had ignored the mouse's frantic pulls at his leg. He went up to touch the warm metal of the ship, brushing away some dust to look into his own reflection. His expression softened as he imagined an actual animal controlling this thing. Did his father ever drive anything like this? "What animal could be big enough to fit this?" He asked, breathless, looking into the metal. 

"Bears," Mike whispered, breathless as well. 

This caught Buster's attention. The koala's eyes widened suddenly at the mention of bears, his head snapping away from the ship towards the mouse, who seemed to be on the verge of panicking. The small mouse was looking all over the place in a paranoid fashion, his breath increasing, hand shaking. "Mike? Are you okay, what's wrong?' Buster immediately asked, concerned for his partner. This wasn't like him. This wasn't like him at all. 

Mike tried to steady his breaths, slowly turning to the koala. His eyebrows creased in somewhat fear, his hand still shaking. He didn't look like the same angry, cocky mouse a few hours ago. He was scared. "We need to go. Now," He stated bluntly. 

"Why?" Buster asked, looking around the place himself, wondering what was making the mouse so jittery. 

"Look, there's no time to explain, we just gotta get..." Mike's frantic sentence was cut off as his eyes widened, looking up at something above Buster.

"Mike? What's wrong?" Buster asked, before noticing where he was looking. A bit scared himself, the koala slowly turned around, looking up.

He was met by a pair of odd, angry, vengeful eyes. Eyes that belonged to a terrifyingly large bear who loomed over him, his two comrades on his sides just adding more pressure. This was what Mike was scared about. 

Buster looked over at Mike, who was cowering behind him. He turned back to the bears. "H-Hello!" He began, his ever-usual happy tone shining. "I see this is your ship! It's a...very good one, haha!" He patted the ship with his paw, leaning on it casually. He flashed a finger-gun to the bears trying to look cool. The bears weren't impressed. The leader's crossed arms became a threatening fist. Buster looked to Mike again, trying to seek advice. 

"Run," Mike squeaked out. 

Nodding, Buster took off in a frenzy, Mike clinging onto his pant leg. The bears had flew right after them, determined to catch up to them. Buster had looked over his shoulder often, each look granting a shock of terror as he realized the bears were just a few feet away, before snapping back. He could hardly think. He just ran. Ran across the peninsula, trying to get the bears off his trail. He was panting hard, his vision growing at different speeds in the foggy beach, clouds of different sizes scattering his eyes. 

Mike had clung to the koala, scaling the animal in an attempt to reach to the top. "They're STILL THERE!" The mouse yelled as he looked over Buster's shoulder, agitated. 

"What do you want me to do?" Buster asked, in-between breaths, growing tired of the mouse's constant complaints. They were on a RUNAWAY, for diamond's sake! 

"Run faster!" Mike pushed. 

Annoyed, Buster planted his head in his paw for a moment. But in that quick moment, he didn't notice a rock in his pathway. He only realized it when he felt his foot hook onto the edge. He felt his gem freeze in his core, solid for a split-second, like his breaths. 

Mike's eyes widened extremely as he felt the koala fall. His grip on Buster's shirt had loosened in fear as he screamed, causing him to fly off of the shirt. 

Into Buster's hands.

\---

His breaths were shaky at first when he opened his eyes. His mind ran raw with constant flowing thoughts as he surveyed the area. One stood out though: why wasn't he shattered? He had been anticipating death since that fall...yet he was still alive?

He looked around the area from the floor where he fell, before meeting eyes with the bear. Both had froze in place. The bear looked...terrified, for some reason. Terrified of him? No, it couldn't be.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He tried to reason with the bears, before he realized what was so wrong. He clamped a hand to his mouth almost immediately after he heard that sentence in his two-toned voice. He looked down at his hand, which connected to an arm draped in sparkly violet fabric. His other hand shakily went over to grab his neck, as if checking something. A gem was connected to his throat, a small string bow-tie launching out from it. A sudden stream of shock filled him, more so than the bears did.

Iolite. 

"Fusion!" The bear roared, breaking the silence. In an instant, the bear summoned his weapon--a pair of sheer brass knuckles. The look of anger on his face prompted Iolite to jump to his feet. 

"Woah, woah, woah, buddy!" Iolite held up his hands in defense, his tone half-nervous and half-confident. "I don't think you should be messin' with me right now!" He said, half of him wondering how he could speak with such assurance. 

The bear cocked his head in doubt, wondering how such a small creature--a fusion, at that--would be able to scare him. "How so?" He growled, his irritated expression reflecting off his brass knuckles. 

The gem in Iolite's eye creased with his eyebrow, matching his enemy's cockiness. "Well, buddies," He felt something take over his words. An odd feeling. "It's like they always say--two gems are better than one!" But before he could think over the meaning of his words, he twirled on his heels playfully, reaching his arm out to summon his weapon. Something to defend himself against the bears, or take him away from the city.

"An umbrella?" His sense of enthusiasm faded as he looked into his hands to see the parasol residing in them. He heard the bears running behind him, his thoughts becoming more urgent. "What's the big idea? How am I supposed to use this?" His question sank into his mind, before an answer arose. Iolite looked up in discovery, his expression turning into assurance, before turning back to the bears, one hand on his hip, the other hand's finger sticking out, the umbrella's hook dangling from its end. 

The leader eyed Iolite with an odd look as he approached closer. The purple gem didn't look confused or nervous. Not at all, even with that weapon of his. He looked...poised. Like he could win.

Like he will win.

"Well friends," Before the bears could even lay out their weapons, however, the gem began to speak. "It's been nice knowing you, but I gotta take a flight right now!" And on instant, the purple gem opened his umbrella whilst jumping in the air, letting the breeze of the city flow into the tool, swiftly carrying the animal into the air. "I'll see you fellas soon!" He greeted farewell as he drifted away from the bears. 

The bear growled. "Who are you, anyways?!" He yelled to the fusion, baring his claw out as if to try and grab him as he floated further away from him.

A smirk laid upon his face for a moment. "Why, friends, I am none other than--" 

"BUSTER MOON!" yelled Buster.  
"ALMANDINE!" yelled Mike. 

"Wait...what?" Iolite took note of the sudden shift in tone from him, before unfusing promptly. The moonstone and almandine fell to the floor, their umbrella disappearing from their synced hands. In desperate pants, the two looked at each other, terrified, before looking behind them to see the three bears only a few miles away from them. 

Buster said nothing. He just picked Almandine up in a flurry and began to run down the street. He was expecting a brigade of swears to launch out of the small mouse, berating him for fusing with him after their conversation. Even calling him out for not running fast enough. He was expecting this from Almandine. But he said nothing. The mouse didn't speak, he was just in a state of panic, heavily breathing. 

Buster continued to run, letting all thoughts run through his head quickly as he ran. All his body allowed him to do was run. The only thought he could make out from the huge cluster resided in the back of his mind. 

He--Iolite--was amazing.


	2. Around The Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buster hides from the bears, and learns a bit more about his partner.

Buster ran throughout the streets, not even looking back, hoping--just hoping--he could lose the bears. He tried to build up the confidence he had before. The confidence of having a freaking umbrella as a weapon and still thinking he would come out on top. But every time he felt himself trying to hook onto this feeling, an earth-shattering growl would kick his mind back, prompting him to try and run faster. He didn't know where those feeling came from, but he felt like he needed them. He needed them to stop the bears. He needed them when he faced Almandine's angry rant in a few minutes.

He neared a corner, instantly nearing into it. Pressing his back against the wall, he breathlessly turned his head around the block. The bears were away. His breaths didn't yield, as they were nearing, but they were away. He took a small breath of relief in between pants, pressing his hand against his chest. A simple word fluttered in his mind. Good.

"WHAT WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?!" Almandine screeched, prompting Buster's eye to shoot open and eye the mouse, who plopped out of his hands and onto the ground. His face was as red as his gem, which was creased as he glared at the koala. His arms were crossed strictly against his chest, his foot tapping the ground angrily. 

With the bears off his back, Buster would have to face another problem. Iolite. 

"Mike, listen," Buster began. "And please keep your voice down--"

"OH, DON'T "'MIKE' ME!" Almandine yelled, throwing his arms in the air. "AND IF YOU KEPT YOUR DAMN MOUTH SHUT, WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS!" 

Buster opened his mouth to speak, but shut it soon after he opened it. "Good point," he muttered. Almandine rolled his eyes, turning away from the koala. "Mi-Almandine!" Buster replied, walking towards the mouse. "We're lucky to have gotten away from them at all. Now...if you just fuse with me," he began a command, knowing that Iolite was enough to nearly ward off the bears. He was thinking--praying--that Mike would cooperate for just one moment. 

"Are you kidding me?!" Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered as the mouse blew off. "What was the one thing I asked you to do with me? Fuse! And what do we do?! FUSE!" 

"Well, what are we going to do, be shattered?" Buster questioned, a sense of urgency arising in his tone. He was as concerned for the mouse as he was for himself, but if they wanted to survive, they had to fuse. "Please, Almandine. I know this is awkward and I know you don't like to work with us, but please--" he pleaded.

"No!" Almandine snapped back without a second thought. "I won't fuse with you! No way, no how!" 

Buster was getting impatient now. The bears were nearing the corner and his team was depending on him back at the theatre. "Almandine, we have been avoiding each other for a month. Can you stop being mad at me for one second and actually help out?!" He retorted.

This caused Almandine to actually flinch. For one slow moment, he turned around to Buster, facing him head-on. "I'm not mad at you!" He yelled.

"Then why have you been ignoring me for the past month?" Buster replied. "You haven't talked to me since we fused! What is it? Are you scared, Almandine?" He asked, crossing his arms.

For the second time, Almandine flinched. The moment lasted longer than before, awkwardness twinging the silence between the two. Buster's expression softened as he looked over his words, realizing the mouse had gone quiet after his sentence. He took into consideration what was being implied. Could it really be? Was the high and mighty Almandine...scared of something? 

"Are...you scared, Almandine?" Buster repeated himself, softer this time. No response. Just a slight glare from the mouse. "Are you scared of me? Of Iolite?" He persisted with his theory. 

The mouse stayed quiet for what seemed like forever. Moments passed, and Almandine would say nothing. There were moments where it looked like he'd retort, but his mouse would just stay closed. It looked like the mouse was deep in thought about something. But what? His brash and rude demeanor slowly melted away from the animal, leaving him as to what Buster theorized: scared. But, again, of what? 

"Moonstone," Almandine sighed after sometime, piercing the silence. Buster looked down in somewhat surprise. For once, Almandine said his name without a huff, or groan, or eyeroll. No rudeness stemmed from the mention of his name--just calmness. "Do you...do you even know why I'm here?"

The koala took in the mouse's question, before shaking his head slowly. "No, I can't say I do," he said. "You're always so distant from us..." he muttered the last part under his breath.

The mouse looked up at the koala. A few seconds passed before he sighed, sitting down. He patted the spot next to him, prompting Buster to do the same. He looked at the mouse with question, but promptly sat down next to him. 

Almandine closed his eyes, going back into thought. It stayed this way for a few seconds. Buster raised an eyebrow, wondering if he should tap him to see if he was still awake, but threw back the thought when the mouse opened his eye. The eye with his gem, however, began to glow.

"It was four months ago."

\---

Buster looked up in awe as to what the mouse was doing. His gem shone a luminescent red throughout the alley, emitting a pure rectangle through the air. The koala looked in awe at the mouse, who seemed to be focusing all his power on this presentation. He looked back to the screen once it started to shine a clear picture. Has Almandine been able to do this all along? 

"I was a commoner on Homeworld. I didn't have ta' train. Didn't have ta' serve. Didn't have ta' do nothing," Almandine began. The picture on the screen depicted the mouse himself, draped in his tuxedo. He looked just like he was right now. But the Almandine on screen looked cocky, conceited. The Almandine here looked...helpless. "I spat on everyone I met, whether high or low," he continued. "I didn't know what I was doing. I just considered myself the best of the best. Then one day..."

The slide changed to another picture. This time, Almandine was looking at a tall, menacing figure. One that looked almost exactly like the bears. A diamond. "I had the nerve to spit on a diamond," he recalled, eyes recoiling at the screen with disgust. Buster looked from the Almandine next to him, to the one on screen. The one shown on the screen looked heckling, unafraid of anything. His shoulders were broad as he pointed at the large bear, who was unamused, and laughed in his face. This was what he did on Homeworld? 

"He sicked his minions on me," Almandine hissed, as the still changed again. This time, it was Almandine on the run from three hideous bears. Buster looked over his shoulder, across the corner, then back at Almandine. He pieced together the bits in his mind. Almandine was a runaway. "I was lucky enough to access an escape pod..." The still changed to a picture of a red pod, nearing Earth.

"...and I landed on Earth..." then it changed to a crash landing, with Buster and his gang crowding around the small ship. 

"...and met you and your team...:" he spat the word "team" like it was acid, as the picture changed into an image of the group welcoming him to the theatre. Almandine took a few moments to himself, before the slide changed again. This time, Almandine was next to a beautiful, organic mouse.

Nancy. 

"....and her," Almandine said her name with a blissful sigh, before looking at Buster for a quick second. "But, you already know about her," he said. "She was the first thing I loved, honestly. Couldn't believe she came from this wretched planet...and so, she decided to learn about my species from you guys. And she decided that she wanted to fuse with me..."

Almandine thought over what he was about to do for a moment, before persisting. The slide changed. Buster's eyes widened. 

It was Iolite, in all his glory, shining onscreen. He stroke his shoulders behind him confidently, a charming smirk residing on his face. His umbrella dangled from his fingers, looking as if it was swung by his hand plentiful times before. It seemed to be a mix of old and new memories. Buster, for a moment, smiled. Was this how Almandine saw him? 

"It was...crazy. One of the weirdest...yet most exhilarating moments of my life," he commented. "But of all people to fuse with...why you?" He looked up at Buster once the question left his mouth. The koala looked down at him, meeting his stare, The two shared a moment of peace between themselves for a few seconds, before Almandine continued. "I couldn't fuse with Nancy, for some reason..." he stated, sadly. Buster looked at him, his gem bleeding with sympathy.

"Wh-Why?" The koala asked. 

Almandine shrugged. "Guess it's cause I'm a gem, she's a mouse...she had no way of feeling what we felt. So...I was scared," he bluntly confessed. "I was scared that someone like you could really like someone like me!"

Buster looked at Almandine with surprise. What did he mean? "What? I'm glad to work with someone like you!" He said, trying to convince the mouse.

Almandine raised an eyebrow. "Look at us. We're hiding in the middle of an alley from some bears because I had to stand up to my superior!" He said. "And now, we can't even cooperate. We'll be shattered in an instant." 

Almandine looked away from the koala, crossing his arms. He closed his eyes, and the screen disappeared, leaving the two in a sea of darkness once again. The mouse looked over his shoulder, to the entry of light, where the bears' figures were approaching. It was like he was just awaiting death at this point. That all was inevitable.

Buster looked at the red gem as he stared into the distance. He didn't look anything like the gem he knew earlier. He looked...like a mouse. A small, quiet mouse. Buster sighed, looking down at him. "Mike. Do you know what fusion is about?" He asked, words courted with care.

Mike looked away from the bears, into the koala's eyes. He shrugged. "Yeah, mushy-gushy love and all that jazz, right?" He asked, remembering what Buster said when he fused with Eddie. 

Buster quirked a smile from the corner of his mouth, before shaking his head. "It doesn't always have to be about love, Mike. Think about Rosita and Gunter--they don't love each other, do they?"

Mike quickly shook his head, giving a look of disgust. 

Buster smiled. He got it. "Fusion doesn't always have to be about love. It can be about synchronization. Or being close to someone you admire..." he smiled, thinking about how his father 'fused' with his mother. "Or, it can be about teamwork," he got up, looking down at Mike. "You want to be in this team, right?" He spoke the question with a sense of leadership, as if he was threatening the mouse with his job. But still, his words felt genuine.

Mike thought over the koala's words, nodding after a few moments. He soon brushed it off with a crossing of his arms and a small 'pshh'. "Yeah, so?" He asked, bitter tone returning.

With a smile, Buster brought out his paw. "Let's do this. As a team."

The last thing he remembered seeing before fusing was Mike's nervous, yet perfect smile.

\---

The bears soon neared the corner. Their steps had become slower, building up anticipation for the grand kill they were about to make. The leader tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the mouse to show himself. After a few minutes of waiting, he punched the wall with a grunt.

"Come out, Almandine!" He growled, the earth quivering underneath him. 

After a few moments, an audible sigh was heard. The beat smirked. He would surrender without a second thought. That coward. 

But, instead of two figures emerging from the shadows, only one walked out. One purple, small, but egotistical gem.

Iolite.

The bear watched as Iolite walked out of the corner with a confident stride, one hand on his hip, the other holding his umbrella over his shoulder. "Hello, gents," he greeted calmly. "I see you've found me. Now, can we make this quick? I got a team I gotta meet in an hour." 

With a heavy glare, the bear pounded his fist into his palm, ready to strike. But before the bear could even retort, Iolite flung the umbrella from his shoulder, striking it against the bear's leg. The two lackeys looked in shock at their crumpled leader, taken out by a simple weapon by a simple gem.

Iolite smiled, tapping the edge of the umbrella against his open hand. He eyed the other bears. "What, you really didn't see that coming?" He asked, before the true battle began. 

The Bears ran in to attack Iolite, who began to fight back. He deflected every punch to his torso with a simple smack from his parasol. He dodged more attacks by opening the tool, letting a small wind lift him up for a few seconds, before landing back on the ground, ready to attack even more. A few swings ended up being enough to deal some damage to the bears. All while dancing around the battlefield, head held high. 

He fought with pride, his movements synced by the two gems that made him. But inside the gem, he felt thoughts bubbling to the surface of his mind. 

"How can I do this?" Mike was asking. It was faint, but he felt it. He heard the mouse's doubt.

"What?" Iolite--no, Buster--asked. Before he could ask Mike, he narrowly dodged another punch, knocking his body with enough force to push him to the ground.

"What am I even doing?" Mike asked again. This time, the question was spouted from his--their--lips.

"Mike, what are you saying?" Buster's voice replied, clutching his side.

"I'm saying I can't do this, Buster!" Mike called out, clutching his eye. "I..I can't make plans, I can't fight back!" 

Iolite felt himself spreading apart from Mike's words, prompting Buster to hug himself to keep them together. This was't going well. Not at all. Taking small breaths, Buster tried to recollect his thoughts.

"Mike...focus on me...." He whispered. No response. Was he listening? He couldn't tell. "Listen....I know you're nervous, and I know you're new to this, but," he looked for the right words to say. "You're gonna be fine. If you just help me with this, we'll come out on top, I swear," he closed his eyes, hoping that somehow, somewhere, Mike was listening.

And somehow, somewhere inside of Iolite, he could feel Mike solemnly nod. "Look out," he whispered to himself, before launching himself to his feet to deflect another incoming bear attack. Half of Iolite looked in shock as the bear was launched back. 

"How did you hear him?" He asked himself.

His opened jaw swirled into a smile. "Big ears," he said. Somehow, he knew that part was Mike.

"Now bears, I believe we have some business to take care of," he quipped, before launching back into battle. 

A few more strikes, a few more blocks. They felt themselves gradually play in sync. Buster spoke through Mike's confident voice, while Almandine moved through Moonstone's flexible body. They knew who they were.

They were Iolite.

Iolite continued his routine, hardly getting tired as the Bears threw themselves at him. He was searching for a way to end them for good--or temporarily, at least. Wouldn't want anyone getting hurt. 

Looking up into the air, the gem thought up a plan. He nodded, as did Buster and Mike, and launched himself towards the sky. 

In that moment, they were confident. They were pure. They were not Buster or Moonstone, or Mike or Alamandine. They were Iolite--they were one. 

The Bears watched as the purple animal flew into the air, head high into the air, before shooting a gaze down to one of the bears, striking his umbrella down. His smile glowed through his shadow as he flew down to the animal, frozen in shock.

"Hey buddy, sorry to storm into your mission," he quirked as the umbrella was launched into the bear's middle. "But goodbye!" Iolite said, before opening the umbrella.

The bear poofed out of his form, his gem clinking onto the ground. Iolite picked it up, examining it a bit, before pocketing it away. He looked around at the other Bears, shrugging, before proceeding on with the battle.

With a jolt of his stick into one bear's chest, one was down. And with a knock and impale to another bear, the deed was done. 

Taking the two gems, Iolite smiled. He did it.

They did it.

The koala and mouse suddenly unfused, the mouse residing in Buster's hands. 

"Really?" He asked, irritatedly. "'Storm into your mission'? That's the best you could think of?" 

But his question went ignored as Buster squealed, stars shimmering in his eyes, like the ones when he saw the ship. "Mike...you just fused!" He gleamed. 

Mike's eyes widened, before he waved it off with a flick of his hand, making a 'pssht' sound. "Yeah? And so?" He asked, tapping his foot.

Buster's smile softened a bit, along with his expression, and he looked into his eyes. "Listen, Mike. I know you're new to this. Fusion is a hard concept. But...I can help you. We can all help you," he offered, reaching his hand out to the mouse. "You just have to accept it."

Mike raised an eyebrow at the koala's offer, wondering what he could get out of this. Him? Learning something? From Mo-Buster? He couldn't think anything like it! He was about to laugh in the koala's face, turning down his offer in a second. But...

He thought. He thought about what he was offering. Lessons. Help. Understanding. He could actually learn something about the world. About Earth. About Nancy. Would Buster really allow him to learn about this? Would the theatre family teach him as well? Could they actually get along?

He then thought about Iolite himself. A pure being that bled happiness and strength and self-assurance. Everything Mike wanted. Everything he could be. He looked at the koala, his eyes pleading with sympathy. He could help...the koala had the potential to do big things. He could've built an army, went to Homeworld, take down the Diamond himself. He had the potential.

But no--instead. He offered help to any refugee animal he found, building a theatre, a home, that they could reside in. He trained them, helped them, cared for them. He reached out for them. And now, he was reaching out to him. 

Mike's cocky expression soon faded into wonder. Should he really accept his offer? 

"Well?" Buster asked, pushing Mike to answer. Mike held onto this word as he thought even further. He realized something about the koala. His word wasn't pushy or demanding--it was compassionate. He cared for Mike. 

Mike looked in Buster's eyes, then at his paw. With a small, quiet nod, he planted his hand into the paw, officially accepting the offer.

"Yesss!" Buster squealed, grabbing Mike's hand. "This is gonna be the start of something great!"

Mike smirked at the koala's enthusiasm, before shaking his head. "Now, don't get too overconfident, pal." 

 

The two shared a small laugh before they took the three gems, and left for the theatre, hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the entire fic in one day wow new record

**Author's Note:**

> ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS SINC EHT FIRST FIC BUT WHOOP, HERE I GO
> 
> (also im rewriting lovestruck idiot so stay tuned for that)


End file.
